Explosion At Pegatron’s iPad Plant Hospitalizes 23 Workers [Report]

A Pegatron plant in Shanghai, China, where rear panels for Apple’s iPad will be manufactured, suffered an explosion over the weekend which hospitalized 23 workers and injured a further 38. Though the explosion did not cause a fire, according to a Reuters report, the Pegatron factory reports there is “some damage” to machinery.

Fortunately, none of those who were hospitalized have life threatening injuries, but the explosion has once again led to safety concerns over factories in China. In the last 12 months alone, we’ve seen two explosions at the Foxconn factories where Apple’s gadgets are assembled, in addition to numerous reports surrounding employee suicides.

The Pegatron plant is yet to reach full operation, but will supply back panels for Apple’s iPad 2. If the safety issues can be promptly resolved, Apple’s supply chain will not be affected in the next quarter, according to the report. Meanwhile, the Cupertino company is said to be investigating the latest explosion.